Rome, Jan 29 (IANS/AKI): Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has opened a new centre here set up by the government in partnership with the UN to fight climate change and boost sustainable development in Africa.

"The African continent represents a pillar of Italy's foreign policy and this government considers it a priority," Conte said on Monday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable Development.

"Security, migration, climate change, economic growth, human development and climate change represent a shared destiny," he added.

The new centre is located near the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in central Rome. It will help develop and scale-up innovative solutions for sustainable development, implement the goals of the UN's 2030 Agenda and the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to end reliance on fossil fuels and cap global warming.

A major focus on boosting the agricultural sectors and promoting rural development in Africa was needed to ensure a better future for the continent's youth who, can be the drivers of development, said FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva at the ceremony.

Several ministers from African countries attended the inauguration. Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Vatican's department for promoting human development, was also in attendance, the FAO said.

The ministers also took part in a roundtable discussion centred on how G7 countries can fight environmental degradation and promote Africa's sustainable economic growth.